Battle of the Bay Aug 17/18, 2013

After a week of fun mtn biking we were off to Battle of the Bay in San Rafael. As we entered San Rafael I had some skype business to take care of and then we headed over and visited 101 Surf Shop. These guys are AWESOME! So welcoming and happy...
Thanks to my amazing navigational skills After doing a full tour of China Camp State Park and tracing back our tracks we finally found ,McNear Park:)
We got to camp at the event site Fri to Sunday... only a couple of us camped but it was beautiful and fun with amazing sunrises and sunsets and good conversations. I wish we could camp at more event sites;)
I was paddling:
2014 Starboard AllStar 12'6x 25.5: It was fast and good in the chop. I felt stable and comfortable on the board. I look forward to paddling it more in the future.
Werner Small Grand Prix Paddle: as always AWESOME!
New Local Honey bikini: love racing in my bikini..... she is small and local to Santa Cruz and just has a great vibe and beautiful suits!
Laiph shorts: comfy and great!
Onit Pro: Makes me glide oh so fast:)
Chacos: my faborite sandals before and after all of these races....
Ryders Eyewear: cool and functional sunnies... I wear them everywear: my fav are the Tranquilo style

Distance race 10 miles
We got it all  on this race:from head wind, side chop, more side chop, small downwind, mega headwind, weird side downwind  all the way to the finish. It was hard and there were moments where I was wondering what I was doing suffering so much but at the same time I loved it. It was totally my kind of course.... I for some reason have developed a niche of enjoying and succeeding at the punishing stuff?!? I sometimes wish I was really good at the fun stuff like surfing and downwind:) Anyways, I had no idea where I was concerning the women etc so I just pushed hard the entire way. I managed to come in first female and 11th overall....

Landshark Sprint
SO FUN! We were all on the same soft top boards... no rules (maybe we needed SOME?!?!) but anyways I am glad Morgan stepped up to the plate and sacrificed her finish to throw us all off our boards... haha... It was great fun watching the young guns out there.. they are so quick on their feet, light, and have no fear... they were able to jump from board to board and pull some pretty amazing feats.... we gotta watch out for them 'cause they are going to show us up very very soon!

5 mile course race
I was nervous coming into this race.... right now I realize my strengths and weaknesses which is good and bad... good as I know what I need to work on and bad 'cause I know where things can go wrong:) It just so happens that although feeling a little sore in certain areas from the previous days long course I quickly forgot about it once the race started and felt strong throughout the race. The course was good for me, lots of straight aways into the wind and fairly long.... It was a tough start with trying to keep a good line and getting away from people that were obstructing it. I was feeling good the first lap but knew that I had to keep pushing hard to stay in front as I had some very fast ladies on my tail. It is tough sometimes trying not to draft the guys and finding a line that wouldn't be seen as drafting but I dealt with it and in the end it was okay. It is always fun to paddle along the entire field of racers dodging and feeling the stoke. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so focused and yelled some kudos along the way.... but I did my best after I finished when I felt more relaxed:)

Bay Challenge
All on the same BOGA soft top boards... lots of turns... I was pretty bad:) hahaha... but sooo fun!

Team relay
So there I was left wanting to race in the team relay but with NO team:( Then Chris made an announcement and I found myself with two great guys! They weren't the quickest but they had soul:) Thank you teammates for wanting to race with me:)

Then it was Awards! My first BIG CHEQUE, my first 1st OVERALL in California, Champagne, amazing supportive community, SMILES!.... I would love to go back!!!!

My first big cheque:)

Thank you Bluerush Board Sports for putting on a really great event!

THANK YOU ANDREW DYE: You are so amazing and I could not be doing all of this without you... I love love love having you there!!!!!!!!!!!

PICTURES CLICK HERE! by ANdrew

PICTURES by OnIt Pro

As always thank you to my amazing supporters: Werner Paddles, Nikki Rekman Sales, Tiki Starboard/Trident Performance Sports, Chacos, Ryders Eyewear, OnIt Pro, Laiph!!!!!!!! I love being a part of your communities

I also met some amazing new people such as Local Honey, Pro-Lite, Just Add Water, Zhik,...the list goes on:)

And lastly congrats to all the racers, supporters, and volunteers, you are all fantastic and all part of this amazing experience!

top three ladies Champagne time:)

Now I am back in Vancouver... work starts, there are more races, and its time to juggle it all for a bit... should be an adventure:)

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Tahoe Nalu 2013

Practice on the 2014 Starboard All Star (12'6 x 25.5)

I once again met such amazing people at this event. I love the SUP community!!!!! THANK YOU for being so supportive and welcoming. 


After a great 10 miler race on Saturday I was excited for the Survivor race. I was curious how I would fair in a turning course. My forte is distance flat water but I am working on my course racing as well. It was 3 heats for the ladies. Eliminating racers each heat. The first heat was won by Morgan. I won the second heat with Morgan second. So it was down to the final... I was feeling good... nervous and excited on the start line. I had a solid run to my paddle and THEN.... I had my OOPS. As I picked up my board to run into the water quite quickly the nose fell forward and dug into the sand. It stopped me in my tracks. I was a little shocked but recovered quickly but Morgan and Gillian were already up and paddling. It was catch up time. Gillian also didn't have a perfect race falling in after the second buoy turn. It was my chance to pass her and I did and then Morgan was my target. Luckily there were two longer straight sections and I just put my head down and paddled as hard as I could. I was catching up. Morgan has a stronger buoy turn than me and there were two more buoy turns until the finish chute but I was gaining I could hear the announcers and the crowds.... BUT I couldn't catch her, she is a very strong paddler. In the end I was about a board length behind her and came in 2nd. It was a fun battle and part of racing is dealing with what happens.. I am very happy I didn't give up and gave it all I could, mistakes happen.... Apparently I provided some entertainment as well:) It was a good paddle paddled by all female paddlers. YAY! 

The starts of the Survivor Race

My OOPS on the final lap... :(

Elite Survivor Champs

MORE PICS

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8442196@N02

Thank you SUPracer, Werner paddlers, Nikkir Rekman Sales, Starboard Boards, Onit Pro, Ryders Eyewear, Chacos, Laiph,... You all help me make it happen!

Live, love, laugh,...DREAM!

lina

2014 Starboard 12'6 x 24 SPrint: at Lake Tahoe Nalu 2013

After Day 1: the 10 mile race. I am feeling tired but so stoked! I managed to win the female division!
I was on the new 2014 Starboard Sprint 12'6 x 24, used my awesome small Grand Prix Werner Paddle.  The water was relatively calm and the cooler air helped on the long distance race. I was pretty much on my own for most of the race so enjoyed the coast line and tried to paddle hard!

we will see what tomorrow's course will bring!

live, love, laugh,..DREAM!

SUNDOG Semiahmoo SUP race: August 4, 2013: I love the SUP family in the Pacific Northwest

I've been back from Hawaii for almost a week.... and still having fun! Vancouver/Pacific Northwest rocks in the summertime.... so I am glad I am squeezing in some fun in these parts as well.
Since I have been back I have been swimming in the local outdoor pool, mountain biking, strolling around local events, seeing friends, etc and of course paddling.

I am glad I was able to make it to the 10km race of the SUNDOG Semiahmoo SUP race. It is also part of the BC SUP CUP race series. It took place along the shores of the seaside town of White Rock BC. Andrew and I went mtn biking in Squamish with good friend SJ on Saturday. It was sooooo fun to be on the mtn bike, the trails were in good condition, I was feeling great, the sun was shining, we had ice cream and jumped in a lake.... AMAZING.... once we got back to Vancouver we got ourselves organized and headed down to White Rock to meet up with folks and check out the city....We ate at Uli's, a fun restaurant right by the water and then went and set up our tent in our little made up campground. We walked around and enjoyed the last of the evening events of the local festival in town...sort of romantic:)

Sunday morning proved to be a calm beautiful day. Loads of folks showed up from WA and OR as well! It was great to catch up with people and I loved the hustle and bustle of pre race madness. The race had three different loops and was a total of around 10km. I was on the 14ft X 24 Starboard Sprint and had my Werner small Grand Prix Paddle. I was feeling good but was unsure how much energy I actually had from M2O and everything I had done since my return. I had a pretty crappy start (semi beach start) I got stuck and sucked in without a chance to paddle and popped out the back. I had trouble controlling my board, it was tippy and went in directions I didn't want it to go... I was slightly flustered but then seemed to get out on the outside in calmer water and started to find my rhythm... I had a horrible first bouy turn with tons of ppl but as we paddled out to the first loop things were spreading out and I was slowly catching up to the front pack, my board was gliding so well and felt fast. After the first loop bouy turn I managed to pass Beau (awesome paddler from WA) and the front pack of 5 guys were ahead of me. The second loop I thought I was getting closer to the pack of guys and was hoping I could catch on the back of the draft but just couldn't get them. At the beginning of the third loop the front pack dispersed... I thought it was my chance to pick them off:) Alas, in the end I caught Matt and Mike D was just ahead of me... He was too strong and too quick I couldn't catch him... I managed to get through the finish in 5th overall and 1st female. It felt great! Andrew was out supporting me and in return of his support I wanted to support him and that meant heading out to Mazama/Winthrop Washington for a couple of days of mtn biking.... luckily I love it and so  I said my goodbyes and thank yous and we headed for the border.... The border line kind of sucked.... about 1.5 hours but once through it was smooth sailing (despite the thunderstorm) to Mazama... Two days of amazing mtn biking ahead along with swimming holes, good food, amazing scenery, good people, beautiful house,... the list goes on:)




live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina